Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 September 2010
1457 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if sanction and the required funding will be given to Dublin City Council to allow it to fill the vacancies in the Dublin Fire Brigade, which currently has to rely on the more costly option of paying overtime to have a full complement of fire fighting officers on duty at all times (details supplied). [32167/10]
View answerUnder section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each County and City Manager is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible, including the employment of outdoor staff and general operatives, in compliance with the relevant public sector recruitment and employment law requirements.
My Department has a delegated sanction from the Department of Finance for implementation of the general moratorium on the filling of public sector posts in the Local Authority Sector, on the condition that the overall staffing levels in the local authority sector are to be reduced significantly by the end of 2010 in adherence to the Government's Policy on Staffing and Numbers in the Public Sector.
Applications for sanction are dealt with on a case by case basis. There are currently no outstanding sanction requests with my Department, from Dublin City Council, in relation to fire-fighter posts.
